


Chess in the Garden

by RedEris



Series: Dragon Age Character contemplations [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 21:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16982037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedEris/pseuds/RedEris
Summary: Written originally for Tumblr as a headcanon-turned-fic contemplating the development of a relationship between Cullen and Dorian over the chessboard.





	Chess in the Garden

You have to wonder how that first chess match came about, really. The Tevinter Altus and the Fereldan ex-templar isn’t the most natural of friendships, after all.

Maybe, just maybe, Dorian overheard Leliana and Cullen talking smack about their next game. We know they played; Leliana takes Dorian’s place at the chess board for that scene if you don’t recruit Dorian. And chess is pretty much the one time we hear Cullen talk smack and frankly it’s beautiful. Maybe it went something like this:

Leliana: “I’ll get you next time, Commander, never fear. The last match was a fluke; you won’t catch me unawares again.” 

Cullen: “I wish you the best of luck, but I’m just good at this.”

Dorian would probably be surprised, to say the least. Maybe he’d think, hah! it’ll be fun to school the ex-templar on how we do it in civilized lands. So he throws down the challenge, and Cullen happily accepts.

And maybe Dorian is honestly expecting an easy match the first time. Cullen’s no scholar. He’s a bit taciturn, transparently straightforward, hilariously blunt. A good fighter, certainly, and that’s well enough in its place, but to beat Dorian? Alright, no, Dorian’s no chess master, and Felix always beat him, but that was Felix. He can beat this doglord.

Except that as it turns out, Cullen really is good at this.

The first couple of matches, he’s genuinely pouring everything into the game. After about the halfway point of the first game, he’s nearly crosseyed with the effort to maintain his attention on the game, but he’s soundly thumped both times.

But he’s discovered something that holds his attention a little better, and that’s a previously unsuspected side to the Commander. Who, apparently, can smirk. Who can taunt and tease. And who can hold a surprisingly pleasant conversation between times. Honestly, who would credit it? 

So after that, he keeps playing, and he does what he often did with Felix to keep things lively–he cheats. Not to win; he’d never really take a win based on cheating. That’s not the fun of it at all. It’s to watch Cullen seamlessly adjust his strategy to the new challenge, to see how he reacts, just to play.

And he’s still obligated to act huffy when he loses–it’s part of the play, and it wouldn’t do to neglect that–but it’s familiar and at the same time it’s new, because Cullen is really not at all like Felix. And amidst all this chaos it’s nice to sit still, and to make common ground where he never expected to find it.


End file.
